Steadfast Faith in God

Hello Dearest Readers,

  I hope your week is going well and you are seeing that walking with Jesus, everyday, is a great blessing, and very rewarding. It is rewarding because as we stay close to Jesus, our steadfast faith in God increases, and our spirits follow Him how ever He leads.

    When everything falls apart and God allows our faith to be tested because of His great desire for His children to grow, we must stay strong in our faith and reliance on Him. He deeply desires that we, His children, make it through stronger and closer to Him!

 Will we trust in our own wisdom, that we will make the right decisions during the test? Or will we immediately and whole heartedly turn to God in faith, through Jesus Christ, waiting for Him to lead the way through the situation? God tests us, so we can grow stronger and learn from any mistakes that are made. When we learn from these mistakes, we  grow  in that steadfast faith and total reliance on Him. The best part is that we make it through the testing time that much closer to Jesus!

  Job was a man who was blameless before God. He feared God and rejected all evil. He had a large family and great wealth in vast amounts of livestock, and many servants. Everything he did was to bring glory to God. God was very pleased with Job. One day God decided he would allow Satan to test Job. So Satan went out and afflicted Job severely; destroying his children, huge flocks and most of his servants. Then God allowed him to be afflicted with boils from head to toe. Job was in great misery, but what did he do? He didn’t curse God; no, he held onto his integrity even in his great sorrow. He even proclaimed to his wife, who was encouraging him to give up on life, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job 2:10  Job remained steadfast in his faith in God, and that God was in control.

  There have been times in my walk with God, that He has tested me as well. If I am walking in obedience, or in disobedience, these tests will come. These tests can even be unsettling at the time. As they pass and I look back with Jesus, I see what took place; as the old saying goes, “hind sight is 20/20.” Also, when I look back I see that Jesus turned a bad situation into something good for my benefit. It reminds me that Jesus is always with me, and has my best interest and spiritual growth in mind -  always! There is no greater feeling than knowing that Jesus, the creator of the whole universe loves me, cares about my growth, and leads me through it all with His love!

  If you find yourself going through a very difficult situation, or maybe even a little situation, understand that God has His eyes on you, always. Our first responsibility is to turn our hearts to God and give Him the situation at hand so He can lead us through it, teaching us what we need to learn. This steadfast faith that God desires of all His children is developed as we walk in obedience to God in the good times and the bad. When we trust God to lead us safely through the difficult situation, we will become stronger in our faith in Him and our relationship with Him will grow.

  “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps.” Job 23:10

  “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proven genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1Peter 1:6-7

 But others are like “Those on the rock ...who receive the Word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” Luke 8:13

  Join me as we stand firm in our faith, in our times of testing, and let’s always praise God for those times that He allows for us to grow stronger in Him.

  We will continue reading Job chapters 1-14 for one more week.

Blessings,

Patricia

God Will Deliver and Protect Us

Hello, Faithful Readers   

  My hope is that you are being blessed with joyful hearts, even in your toughest days, as you walk closely with Jesus everyday.

  If you are living in a difficult situation, or suffering in some way, have faith in God through Jesus. Trust that as you grow in Him, He will be faithful to deliver you from your troubles in His perfect timing. Until we are delivered, we must be obedient and remain walking close to Him; even in our trials and fears.  We must remember that God is always with us. He has promised to never leave us, ever.  As we trust God in this way, our strength as a Christian will grow and His protection becomes very powerful in our lives.

Most Christians give up when things go wrong. They try to fix it themselves. They don't wait on the Lord or follow His counsel; if they even sought that counsel in the first place.  Esther and Mordecai DIDN'T do any of those things. That is the point of the story. They didn't just give up or run around trying to fix it themselves. They took it straight to the Lord for His counsel. God gave Mordecai the plan in his heart, a heart that sought God. While they were waiting for God to save their lives he, Esther, and the whole nation of Israel bathed it in deep earnest prayer and fasting. Esther and Mordecai had a real walk with God.  This wasn't just some emergency prayer. They were faithful and then when the emergency came they were able easily to go to God with their huge petition to be rescued. They continued walking by faith, planning to do the impossible, because they walked with God daily. They didn't give up or run around trying to fix it themselves. They took it straight to God, earnestly sought His counsel, cried out for His rescue, and stepped out in faith. They didn't know what God would do or how He would do it, but they knew that He was the only One to turn to.

  God heard them. He knew their plight. He had prepared everything for this very day. And His glory was revealed; He rescued them. And at the last second! We want to see our rescues come immediately. But God has other things in mind. He wants to see our faith and obedience...until the very end.  He pushes us and tests us to see what kind of faith we really have. Is it in our own wisdom or the wisdom of friends with a dab of God in it? Or is our faith the kind that seeks His will, His way, His timing, and submits to His plan?

  The obedience of Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai and their dependence on God in the face of annihilation was pleasing to Him. God had complete control over everything: from who became Queen of Persia, to the fact that Esther was born at just the right time to become Queen, to Mordecai's obedience in seeking God’s will in a difficult situation. God noticed their obedience and dependence on Him to save them, so God chose to use them as instruments to reverse the edict against His people, and to destroy one of their greatest enemies, Haman. God’s justice is perfect and will always prevail even in the darkest of circumstances. His children must always remember to seek His will over anyone else’s ideas. If Esther and Mordecai had forgotten about God’s love for them and all the mighty ways that He had delivered His people in the past, they would have been consumed with fear and would have never asked God for help in their time of distress. Their faith was stronger than their fear.

  Is God calling you to step out of your ordinary Christian life and trust Him and His will for you? If He is, or when He does, I pray you will be willing to take Jesus’ hand and let Him lead you and teach you how to live for Him, and truly serve Him in this world.

  “My prayer is not that You take then out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. John 17:15-19

“Because he loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91:14-15

“To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.” 1Peter 1-2

   Seek God in all you do, and He will hear from Heaven. He will speak to you His perfect will for you; and deliver you.

  We are now starting the book of Job. We will read chapters 1-14 for two weeks.

Blessings,

Patricia

Complete Devotion to God Brings Many Blessings

Hello Children of the Most High God,

  As I write this letter, I am greatly comforted as I walk today in the comfort and protection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My great love and devotion to Him as my God and my Redeemer is so pleasing to His heart. I hope to encourage any of you who are going through a difficult time right now and don’t know where to turn or what to do next. Maybe it feels like everything is coming against you. Jesus longs to set you up high above these problems as you give Him all your cares and rest in His abounding love for you. He is waiting to be Lord of your life as you devote your day to His ways and His purposes.

  God is greatly blessed when we learn about Him through His Holy Spirit. As we learn about who God is, we come to understand God’s great and infinite power and control over all things. This great and powerful God created us because He longs to shower His immense love and affection on us, if we will let Him. When we grow in our devotion and love for God, and complete trust in His perfect will, we are opening up our lives to God and His great blessings He has planned for us. This is when we start to see His power working in our lives. When something goes wrong, we are automatically driven to look to God through Jesus Christ for help in our need. Then in God’s great pleasure of our devotion to Him, we receive what we ask for because we ask according to His will and guidance.

  I don’t remember when I first started seeking the Lord in difficult situations, but I do remember that it just became automatic, like when you go to a parent for help.

  Haman the Agagite, who was a long time enemy of the Israelites, was highly honored by king Xerxes, to the highest position of all the nobles in his kingdom. Since Haman hated the Jews, he devised a plan to convince king Xerxes to approve a law that would authorize the annihilation of all the Jews in the kingdom, which included all of Israel. This would have been the end of all of God’s chosen people. But God had a counter plan that Haman was unaware of. Mordecai encouraged Esther to go before the king even though it meant that going before the king uninvited could cost her life. Knowing that nothing is impossible for God, she requested that all the Jews fast and pray to God for three days, then she would go before the king. After the three days, she went before the king, and through God’s grace, the king allowed her to come before him to speak her request. After a series of events happened, in God’s providence, Queen Esther was able to convince the king that Haman was trying to kill her, his wife, and her people. Greatly angered Xerxes had Haman killed. Then a new law was written that allowed the Jews to defend themselves and plunder the property of their attackers. The Jews were redeemed from certain annihilation because a Jews girl who became Queen had a stronger devotion to God, than to man. God honored Esther’s devotion to Him, and courage by making her Queen at just the right time, to walk in God’s grace and serve Him for such a grand purpose.

  In my new life with Jesus, I have learned that there is nothing in this world that is more important or valuable than my relationship with Jesus and His love for me. I am not afraid to be without any of life’s conveniences, because those things are not what satisfy my deep longing for security and peace in my life. Only Jesus provides me with the security and peace that I need daily. The other things are provided by God’s grace. I have learned to put all people and things second to God, and this greatly pleases God. My complete trust in God's perfect will, and my devotion to Him is such that if I lost everything in this world, I would still have God, and that is all I truly need. Everything else, and everyone else are gifts from God for my pleasure and joy. He is my life, my sustainer, my Redeemer, my Savior, my Creator. My heart is completely devoted to the God of the Universe through His Son Jesus Christ. There is nothing I lack.

  Each of our hearts long for this kind of love, but with all love, it must be cultivated through strong devotion and relationship. This is where we learn to completely trust Jesus and His guidance in our lives. God greatly desires all His children to seek this from Him and Him alone. If we will pray to God for guidance in the direction and plans He has for each of us, God will be faithful to providentially lead us in the way we should go. He does this by leading us through words from a brother or sister in Christ, or to get a certain book or music, or devotional. He uses these to speak to our hearts in just the way that He made out hearts to be spoken to. If we are willing to listen, He will speak to our hearts and we will hear Him. Over time, God will provide more in our life; like people who will have the same interests to serve God in the same way. As we continue to grow we see God’s hand of grace and love in our lives. This produces a profound love for God that nothing and no one can take away. This great devotion that is developed will make it possible for each of us to serve God in a way that we would have never dreamed or dared doing in our own strength. Do you desire to step out of your comfortable Christian life and live your life in obedience to God and His call on your life? If so, then the first thing you can do is learn God’s ways and live in obedience to them. God will honor your trust in Him and provide you ways to serve His special purposes for you, in His timing.

  God is calling each of His children to step out of their comfortable and predicable Christian lives and desire to follow Him where ever He leads. For me, this was a desire of mine very early in my Christian walk; it just took time and the right circumstances to make it into reality through God’s perfect timing. Now I live each day closely following Jesus and seeking His wisdom on how to handle every situation that arises. Some situations are quite amazing, and they cause me to be thrilled to be walking this life, a daughter of the King of Kings and co-heir with Christ.

  “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

  “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quite waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23

  “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

  I hope you are enjoying the book of Esther, we will continue reading this book for one more week.

Blessings,

Patricia

Trusting God in Any Circumstance

Hello Dear Ones,

  There is always hope, even in the most difficult of situations, if we know and follow the Most High God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I want to encourage everyone who may be experiencing a situation in their life that seems hopeless. There is nothing impossible for God; so we should give Him our hopeless or difficult situations and leave them in His hands. Walk daily with Him and devote all of our lives to Him and His will. Then we can be confident that God is working out His perfect will for each of us; in His perfect timing. So let’s love God, seek His will, and trust Him to provide for our needs each day.

  We all know the saying that "for every cloud there is a silver lining." But as Christians, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 If you know God through Jesus Christ, you have been called according to His purpose. He asks each of us to give Him our hurts and our hopeless situations. Then in His perfect timing He will transform us into the person He created us to be, for His glory. The person He created each of us to be is going to be the person we desire to be, but we must walk in His guidance and love in order to find that person in us.

  Esther who was raised by her Uncle Mordecai because she was an orphan, was of the tribe of Benjamin. They were living in Persia as well as many of the Jews who were exiled; but now they were free to return to Judah if they wished. Many stayed because God led them to remain in Persia for His purposes. King Xerxes was beginning his search for a Queen, so he had all the young women taken to his palace for a year of preparation before going before the King. Esther was one of the women. Even after having been taken from her family and the life she knew, she trusted God and walked in the grace He provided. She right away won the favor of all who knew her, including the head Eunuch Hegai who right way provided her the best room, food, and beauty treatments. After the year of preparation, Esther went before King Xerxes and he was more pleased with her than any of the other women. In a situation that began as alarming and difficult for Esther, God blessed her in a beautiful way by making her Queen of Persia.

  We all have stories from our lives that show how God brought triumph through tragedy, and loss of hope to new hope. I myself have many stories I can recall that reflect this hope given by God. Just last October I was beginning to wonder if I should look for another job since I was feeling like I wasn’t going anywhere with my current job, and maybe I should be making more money than I am. I asked God if I should do this. He said, “No, I don’t want you changing jobs. This is not a time to be changing jobs with the economy the way it is.” So I forgot about all that and continued on. Well a week later we got notice that our company was going to be doing a shared service agreement with another TV station here in Tucson and that we would be moving into that TV station's building. Well it just so happens that the other TV station is very close to my home and shopping!! I trusted God with my job and security, and He blessed me with a wonderful situation. I know my God loves me and desires the best for me. I greatly desire to know His will and then do His will to the best of my ability.

  Until we get to know God and His movements in our lives, we may never realize how He is working out His will for our lives. Like the ways that He causes things to happen for our benefit. He does this because He loves us dearly, and because He is positioning us in just the right place and circumstance for His purposes. He will also make it possible for us to be trained in the ways we need to grow, so we will be ready to serve Him at the right time we are needed. This sounds like my heavenly Father, who is sovereign, and works everything out for His good, and divine purposes.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

“…for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

“O Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You.” Psalm 84:12

My prayer is that we all would seek God’s will, and then do His will in His strength, not ours.

We will continue reading Esther for two more weeks.

Blessings,

Patricia